School Start Postponed by Gov. – Letter from DC Superintendent
July 16th, 2020 by Joe Burgess
The Governor announced public schools in Arkansas would not start until the week of August 24. We will let you know the new start date as soon as possible as well as other activities that maybe scheduled for the beginning of school. During this time, we will continue to prepare for the students’ return to school. We are storing and/or removing extra furniture out of classrooms to allow for more spacing of tables and chairs, developing creative lunch schedules and serving areas, and cleaning the buildings and campus from top to bottom. Teacher’s are participating in online trainings and starting to develop lessons that will be used for blended and virtual learning if a student or students have to go home due to illness or inclement weather. As the Governor said today, our goal is to have all students back in school.
When considering which option is best for your student, please note some characteristics a student who participates in virtual will need as well as the program itself. All of this information will be presented in detail at an orientation meeting for students and parents who choose virtual before they sign the contract for the Pirate Virtual Academy, Fall 2020 semester . The orientation dates will be determined closer to the new start date.
*Student should be self-motivated to complete assignments
*Student should be organized and goal-oriented
*Student should be able to apply 4 hours of study time per day to complete lessons
*internet knowledge to interact with teachers and other students using a designated classroom platform, e-mail, phone or other source of communication. (Adult coach for younger students)
*Attendance is based on completion and communication
Students will turn work in on-time. If work is not turned in when it Is due or a student does not check-in with a teacher as scheduled, it is considered an absence.
*Work completed by someone other than the student or plagiarism may forfeit virtual privileges or result in a failing grade
The Drew Central Re-Entry Plan is located on our web page
www.drewcentral.org under the COVID tab on the left. We also have a form under the tab for parents to submit questions regarding re-entry and what school will be like when it does start. When the Re-entry Committee answers a question, the question and answer are posted on FAQS also under this tab. All of these are being updated as we receive new information and make plans for our Pirates. They also change when we receive news like we did today regarding a new start date.
We miss our Pirates and look forward to seeing you ASAP! Stay safe and healthy so we can all get back on our ship and row!
#WeAreDC
Kimbraly Barnes
Superintendent
